Oil and gas exploration company starts drilling in Sebou

Marrakech: Circle Oil, the international oil and gas exploration and production firm in Ireland has pronounced new drilling in the Sebou and Lalla Mimouna permits in the Gharb area.

Oil and gas exploration company starts drilling in Sebou

This is the third drilling in the Sebou permit and the first in Lalla Mimouna which will commence with the beginning of drilling on the second well named CGD-12 to be drilled.

The Sebou conformity between Circle Oil Maroc (COML) and Office National des Hydrocarbures au Maroc (ONHYM) was inked in 2006. It is for a period of eight years renewable with the option of a production exploitation agreement of 30 years if commercial quantities of oil and gas can be taken out. The area is 134 Kms 2. The permit share-holding contract is COML 75% and ONHYM 25%. Four exploitation concession sub-areas have been listed and noted in the authorized bulletin to cover the production from 7 of the 12 discovery wells to date.

COML has signed a similar contract with ONHYM for the Oulad N’Zala Concession (25km 2.) which is next to the Sebou Permit. The contract for the Lalla Mimouna permit (North and South) was inked in 2010, and covers an area of 2,211 Kms2. The permit share-holding agreement is COML 75% and ONHYM 25%.

The current plan is to drill 12 wells split between the Sebou, Oulad N’Zala and Lalla Mimouna permits. This will be in addition to the re-entry/re-drill of KAB-1 and 2 to use new gas districts in existing wells.

Circle Oil has exploration procedures in Morocco, Egypt, Tunisia, Sultanate of Oman and Tunisia is interested in additional boosting its operations in North Africa and preserving a portfolio of investments in the nation which balances risk. Exploration discoveries are never convinced and lessening the cost of exploration by farming out drilling operations with other chosen international exploration companies (IOC’s) can diminish operating charges. Circle Oil conversely chose to keep the drilling and exploitation rights itself. This suppleness is pleasant to stockholders and investors.

ONHYM has shown impressive skill in fascinating investment from over thirty leading IOCs in Morocco’s oil and gas exploration sector in a relatively short space of time.

So far gas finds have been more important in Morocco than oil strikes. The territory continues considerably under-explored and 2 and 3D seismic procedures, only available in current years, have helped to discover possible geographical features and decipher information. Nevertheless oil and gas exploration still compels an element of luck and as every new drilling is pronounced, expectation is stimulated. Exploration and successful production takes time and this is merely the nature of the industry.